A mockery of catching the corrupt in Himachal

The recent anti-corruption drive of the Vigilance department touched a new low when the Himachal Government recently reinstated the infamous drug inspector Sher Singh and the mai-baap class (IAS) officer Sanjay Gupta. Both were caught red handed while accepting lakhs in bribes. Sher Singh’s case was an eye opener for us the junta class as we marveled at the money one can make serving as a ‘humble’ government ‘servant’.

Sample this, a kothi worth just Rs. 2 crores, numerous bank accounts, land papers, plots, flats, the list seemed to be unending. When he was arrested our ruling netas from top to bottom were thumping their chests and announcing on roof top, ‘Look here we are and now the people will have corruption free environment’. Sher Singh have had some powerful godfathers all these years. He was merely a drug inspector who was then asked to look after the work of drug controller as the one before him was also suspended. Since his suspension was revoked he has been given a plum posting of Registrar of the Pharmacy Council.

Earler there used to be a three member licensing authority which was quashed by the present government and all powers were handed over to Sher Singh. In other words Sher Singh starting minting money alone which was earlier being shared by three people. This must have caused heart burn among some quarters ultimately resulting in his arrest. Those were the earlier days of the present regime with Vigilance given go ahead to flex it’s muscles and this ‘poor, humble’ servant fell into it’s dragnet. Similar has been the case of the IAS officer Sanjay Gupta. He too was caught with Rs. 2 lakhs in his person. Since he happens to be from the mai-baap class, nothing can technically happen to him. As they happens to be our lords and masters they have impunity over all crimes. Case in point is another IAS Subhash Ahluwalia who too after being suspended is back to being a humble public servant.

Once the Vigilance catches a person, it recommends a departmental action against the accused. Cases are filed seprately with the police. If the government has honest intentions of punishing the guilty it can chargesheet the accused and hold daily hearings of the departmental enquiry and recommend termination of service. There is no need to pursue the case in courts. But what happens is the opposite. It suspends the accused and files a case in court which drags on for years. The accused is reinstated after some time without directions from any court making the entire exercise futile.

Vigilance seems to be doing it’s job and catching the guilty regularly. It recently announced a mega – win a prize scheme to help catch officials accepting bribes. The informer now will get 15% straight on the amount seized. But this can become a great business for the Power – ful.

This is a win win situation for the Power-ful. 15% is a peanut to be be paid and that too from the seized bribe money. Consider the math to get re-instated. Imagine how much will be later paid by the accused to get back into the service. Hypothetically, any guesses how much money a person like Sher Singh Thakur would be ready to offer from his ‘treasure’?

Few PWD officials were recently caught near Manali and large amount of money was recovered from them. These are from the electrical wing of the PWD whose budget is just 10% of the entire PWD budget of repairing and building roads. Already an officer of the same electrical wing of the PWD was arrested in Shimla while accepting bribes earlier. One can easily draw conclusions about the money being exchanged in the PWD department on the rest 90% budget. No prizes for guessing whose names will be there in the next list of the re-instated officials.

Finally it may boil down to robbing the robber. The accused here cannot even complain of bribing the power-ful. A shameful chapter has been initiated in the state. Catching the corrupt and then reinstating them is going to be next big industry in Himachal.

16 Responses to "A mockery of catching the corrupt in Himachal"

Bheegi Billi October 22, 2009 at 10:51 am

Great going. I firmly believe that where one of the premier websites on Himachal lost it out, you’ve started there. It has a potential as your think articles are growing by the day. Only just that – the URL nityin and branding would hinder its growth. Think about it and expanding.

Ha.ha.. coming from a founder of that premier website, it is really flattering. Seriously, corruption has increased many fold in absence of any concrete punishment mechanism within the state. There is no department which has not been affected by this phenomenon. Above all govt babus have now got the 6th pay commission pay scales but hunger of money is still growing day by day and it has an approval of the Power-ful people of the state.

I guess I will continue with this URL only. Every portal has it;s own niche and I do not wish to come in their way. Yes I am looking for authors to bring variety to this blog. But none seems interested. (:

Great going. I firmly believe that where one of the premier websites on Himachal lost it out, you’ve started there. It has a potential as your think articles are growing by the day. Only just that – the URL nityin and branding would hinder its growth. Think about it and expanding.

Ha.ha.. coming from a founder of that premier website, it is really flattering. Seriously, corruption has increased many fold in absence of any concrete punishment mechanism within the state. There is no department which has not been affected by this phenomenon. Above all govt babus have now got the 6th pay commission pay scales but hunger of money is still growing day by day and it has an approval of the Power-ful people of the state.

I guess I will continue with this URL only. Every portal has it;s own niche and I do not wish to come in their way. Yes I am looking for authors to bring variety to this blog. But none seems interested. (:

Once you go professional you then have to make the site viable. That means somewhere you have to lick the feets at some point of time. I don’t want to do that. Plus I am not a journalist and to run a pro site it should be done by a pro journo. There is a very small audience within Himachal for a pro site. Most of the visitors are the one who reside outside Himachal and wants to know what is happening back home. Till the time there is not an audience within Himachal making a site commercially viable is not possible. It may happen 5 years from now but not now. You can have your presence on the web till then and once their is a market you can think of jumping in. The renewal of this blog registration is due next year and I may go in for some *commercially viable* name the next time.

I share your views that the audience within Himachal is very thin. But I always believe in creating a market rather than letting somebody do it. You’ll always have the first mover advantage. But the negative part about it is that, you do the dirty job and once the market is created, someone with deep pockets jumps in and as he doesn’t have to spend money on creating the market just goes for the kill, and meanwhile kills the first mover too.

However, I know that the market is outside Himachal, but I had some ideas to create that market within too, which I’ve often shared. Let me not share the ideas here. But they never got implemented as they need resources in the sense – money and above all full-time staff. And that was one of the reasons for… as I was just getting no support in spite of the fact that staff was hired and was and is not being utilised. You can see the articles being published for yourself and notice who’s writing them and what’s the frequency.

Let’s see, when can I jump in. As I know I have to create the market. Can’t wait for anybody else to create that market. More so, no one else would. We have to be the ones. Oh Yes, if you know some funding agency, I can share the idea.

Once you go professional you then have to make the site viable. That means somewhere you have to lick the feets at some point of time. I don’t want to do that. Plus I am not a journalist and to run a pro site it should be done by a pro journo. There is a very small audience within Himachal for a pro site. Most of the visitors are the one who reside outside Himachal and wants to know what is happening back home. Till the time there is not an audience within Himachal making a site commercially viable is not possible. It may happen 5 years from now but not now. You can have your presence on the web till then and once their is a market you can think of jumping in. The renewal of this blog registration is due next year and I may go in for some *commercially viable* name the next time.

I share your views that the audience within Himachal is very thin. But I always believe in creating a market rather than letting somebody do it. You’ll always have the first mover advantage. But the negative part about it is that, you do the dirty job and once the market is created, someone with deep pockets jumps in and as he doesn’t have to spend money on creating the market just goes for the kill, and meanwhile kills the first mover too.

However, I know that the market is outside Himachal, but I had some ideas to create that market within too, which I’ve often shared. Let me not share the ideas here. But they never got implemented as they need resources in the sense – money and above all full-time staff. And that was one of the reasons for… as I was just getting no support in spite of the fact that staff was hired and was and is not being utilised. You can see the articles being published for yourself and notice who’s writing them and what’s the frequency.

Let’s see, when can I jump in. As I know I have to create the market. Can’t wait for anybody else to create that market. More so, no one else would. We have to be the ones. Oh Yes, if you know some funding agency, I can share the idea.

Dear sir,Thanks for your article.This is what is happening in the whole Himachal Pradesh.A person named shri Jaidev sharma who is an ex-employee of PWD department.No need to ask the authenticity of honest department.Well since his inception as Pradhan of Gram Panchayat,he had chopped lakhs of money,He was suspended and terminated twice but by the mercy of black sheeps,he is again reinstated as Pradhan GP Dhar under Chauntra Block,Joginder Nagar(Mandi) HP.Again the complaint was forwarded but to a surprise the BDO Mr. Daljeet Pathania got bribed from shri Jaidev sharma and he kept on sitting in the Panchayat Bhawan and did nothing in the name of enquiry.Mr Jaidev arranged delicious food and drinks for BDO sahib,and finally the most corrupt Pradhan in the Mandi district is scott free.